# Whiskey swigging bride wants photo killed **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212 "2004-04-09T19:30:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/1 "2004-04-09T19:30:32Z")
[Here’s](http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/sns-ap-wedding-photo-flap,0,586893.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines) the story, and here’s a small section: > [@](#): > > Most women are eager to show off their wedding photos. But Michele Hemphill is suing to get a picture of her drinking whiskey and smoking a cigarette in her wedding dress off store shelves. > > The photo was taken 22 years ago while Hemphill was with her bridesmaids before her wedding. It’s featured on a greeting card with the caption: “Intoxicating Love.” Inside it says, “Isn’t love intoxicating? Congratulations on your special day.” My question is, I was under the impression that the photographer owns the rights to the photos they take. Am I misinformed? Does she have a case? Does she even remember the ceremony after the whiskey? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/2 "2004-04-09T19:53:07Z")
I want to see the picture, darnit! ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/3 "2004-04-09T20:15:12Z")
[This one](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bridereport1.html) is kind of funny…has a police report to go along with it. 🙂 It’s from The Smoking Gun. > [@](#): > > AUGUST 25–As you probably recall, TSG reported last week on the arrest of a Connecticut woman who went bonkers at her wedding reception. Turns out the story is better than we thought. According to this just-released South Windsor Police Services report, 19-year-old bride Adrienne Samen spat on her wedding ring, called a fellow inmate the N-word, and queried cops on how much time she’d serve for “killing a Marine” (Samen’s new hubby, a Leatherneck, had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq). And it just gets better! Blushing brides. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/4 "2004-04-09T20:31:05Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > I want to see the picture, darnit! Ditto. I’m sure it’s out there somewhere, but I haven’t had any luck finding it. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/5 "2004-04-09T20:31:14Z")
The law is complicated and the article doesn’t have enough info to really clarify things. We don’t know where the picture was taken or what the photographer’s professional relationship was with the bride (I get the impression from the article that it was not the official wedding photographer.) A good rule of thumb is that you need a model release for every recognizable person in a picture if you plan on using that picture for commercial gain. The exception is editorial use (i.e. photojournalism). For news photography, someone in a public place has no reasonable expectation of privacy. However, the definition of “public place” may not include places you’d expect, like privately owned stores and parking lots. In this case, I suspect the photographer is in the wrong, because even if the bride was out on the veranda emptying a bottle of Scotland’s finest in full view of everyone, the use of the photo isn’t conceivably covered under the “editorial” use exception. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/6 "2004-04-09T20:35:08Z")
Oops, forgot to add – even in photojournalism, your editor is going to get irritated if you don’t at least get the names of the people in the photo. This is mostly because it’s just good journalistic practice but partly because getting people’s names and photos helps sell papers. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/7 "2004-04-09T20:40:34Z")
I “Googled” myself out trying to find it. I went to Portal’s [website](http://www.portalpub.com/main/htdocs/portal/a00_.htm) and found out that some local stores are dealers. I may stop by my favorite and see if they have it. If so, I promise to scan it. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/8 "2004-04-09T21:16:51Z")
[Here](http://moen.net/ext/g2/VH002078.jpg) is the picture. This is from the Corbis website, via a friend of mine. I think if she signed a standard model release, she’s SOL. If she didn’t, the photographer is seriously SOL ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/9 "2004-04-09T21:21:37Z")
> [@harmless](#): > > [This one](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bridereport1.html) is kind of funny…has a police report to go along with it. 🙂 It’s from The Smoking Gun. > > And it just gets better! > Blushing brides. 😃 I believe Ms. Samen even has her very own thread around here somewhere but it’s not turning up in Search. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/10 "2004-04-09T21:22:41Z")
Jesus Christ! The only thing missing from that pic was an accompanying .wav file that say BOO! ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/11 "2004-04-09T21:23:40Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > [Here](http://moen.net/ext/g2/VH002078.jpg) is the picture. > > This is from the Corbis website, via a friend of mine. > > I think if she signed a standard model release, she’s SOL. If she didn’t, the photographer is seriously SOL Whoopsie-puke! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/12 "2004-04-09T21:25:57Z")
Are you sure? I can’t get much off that sight and the article said she was drinking whiskey. This one appears to be drinking High Lifes and Heinies. When I searched, I found plenty of smoking/drinking brides but they didn’t seem to be the correct one. I tried the front page, but OMG??? 😕 I just don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/13 "2004-04-09T21:27:49Z")
And upon closer inspection… Is she lighting a doobie?? Looks a little tapered at the end. You GO, girl! It’s your day! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/14 "2004-04-09T21:31:42Z")
Ugh… the poor woman. If she was embarrassed by appearing on a greeting card in an aspect in which it seems unlikely that any of her contemporary peers could possibly recognize her, she must be _thrilled_ with the [65 online articles that identify her by name, state her location, and provide people with all the information they need to see the photo for themselves.](http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&tab=wn&newsclusterurl=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/09/1081326929255.html&filter=0) Not to mention the print, television and radio coverage that her suit will attract. Bitten on the ass by that persnickety Law of Unintended Consequences. ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/15 "2004-04-09T21:37:17Z")
Ok, tried Corbis Corp’s site and came up with that same pic. OMG, no wonder she’s suing! Thanks, **Zyada**. I’m going to make it my screen saver. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/16 "2004-04-10T02:02:32Z")
> [@harmless](#): > > [URL=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bridereport1.html] > Blushing brides. 😃 Geez, I’m not normally into recommending Botox but if anyone needs it, it’s this woman! ---
**Author:** ![Ashkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ashkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashkicker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/17 "2004-04-11T00:40:18Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > [Here](http://moen.net/ext/g2/VH002078.jpg) is the picture. > > This is from the Corbis website, via a friend of mine. > > I think if she signed a standard model release, she’s SOL. If she didn’t, the photographer is seriously SOL OMG. That is so funny. I wonder how she explained that to the kids? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/18 "2004-04-11T02:10:42Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > The law is complicated and the article doesn’t have enough info to really clarify things. We don’t know where the picture was taken or what the photographer’s professional relationship was with the bride (I get the impression from the article that it was not the official wedding photographer.) The photographer “[was on assignment for Newsweek doing a story about families in the Springfield area when he took the picture…](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=816&ncid=816&e=1&u=/ap/20040409/ap_on_fe_st/wedding_photo_flap)” ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/19 "2004-04-11T02:39:57Z")
Then isn’t the photo owned by Newsweek? Or the A.P.? And if the photo is being used on a card I don’t think it’ll fall under the journalist loophole. Though I really can’t support the bride’s side of this all that strongly… Really the only thing she had to do so that photo didn’t end up being national news is not to do things that she doesn’t want photographed in a situation where there are obviously photographers present. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212/20 "2004-04-11T10:17:40Z")
SCARY looking bride! ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whiskey-swigging-bride-wants-photo-killed/239212.md?page=2)